Royal Wedding set issued by Jersey Post

 

Jersey Post is delighted to commemorate the wedding of  His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and  Miss Catherine Middleton  on Friday, 29th April  2011 at Westminster Abbey by issuing a £3.50  stamp which shows the  happy couple at the  announcement of their engagement.  The miniature sheet contains four of the stamp in a 2 X 2 format. 

Technical Details
The Stamp, First Day Cover envelope and Presentation Pack were created by Andrew Robinson. The Stamp imageis from a photograph ©  by Mark Stewart, of  Camera Press London. The Presentation Pack photograph was by Rhona Rutherford © University of St Andrews.  The Stamps were printed by Cartor Security Printing, of  France in four color process offset Lithography in sheetlets of four (2 across x 2 down). The Stamp has a size  of 51.00mm x  37.50mm. All Stamp product designs  are © Jersey Post Limited 2011.
In addition to mint and CTO stamps, official First Day Cover envelopes and Presentation Packs will be available from the Jersey Philatetic Bureau, Postal  Headquarters, JERSEY JE1 lAB, at the shop in Broad Street Post Office, stamp dealers and other interested person should  go to Jersey Post Office website at:  www.jerseystamps.com . The Jersey Post email address is stamps@jerseypost.com

 

The “BLUE AND YELLOW” commemorated on January 27th set from Sweden

Sweden Salutes its National Day

Since 1983, June 6 has been recognized as Sweden’s official National Day of honor. It commemorates that day in 1523, when Gustav Vasa was chosen to lead the country as its king. Raising the Swedish national flag is a festive and formal way to commemorate important date in history even though this particular folk tradition is not particularly old. Raising the flag in general and flying the Swedish flag became a common occurrence only at the beginning of the 1900s. The Swedish design of a yellow cross on a blue background was stipulated by the Flag Act of 1663. The inspiration for the flag was attributed to y Karl Knutsson’s royal banner from the l400s. Crosses were introduced on flags as a Christian symbols during the crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries. Previously, the blue in the Swedish flag was much darker than it is today, and the yellow was closer to orange. The colors found on today’s flag are literally taken from Sweden’s oldest preserved flag, which dates back to 1658, when Parliament decided to institute a new Flag Act following the dissolution, in 1905, of the union with Norway. Helsingborg politician Oscar Trapp argued that the flag should return to the lighter colors from Sweden’s era as a great power. To get the colors just right, he contacted the Museum of Art and History in Amsterdam where Sweden’s oldest flag was preserved as a war-trophy from a naval battle against the Swedes in Oresund Sound. He persuaded the museum to unstitch and remove a piece of yellow and blue fabric from the flag that had not faded. The Flag Act of 1906 subsequently specified that the Swedish flag should be ‘a sky blue field with a golden yellow cross”. The stamps were designed by Ingela Peterson Arrhenius (for the four booklet stamps) and Henrik Karksson for the single coil stamp which was based on a photo by Lena Paterson. The Offset stamps were produced by Sweden Post Stamps.

For more info see:  http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Celebrating-the-Swedish-way/National-Day/

For Photos of the event see:  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sweden+national+day+celebration&qpvt=sweden+national+day+celebration&FORM=IGRE&adlt=strict

finland issues unusual shaped stamps

A daring, form-cut format stands out from the rest Finnish stamps released in January which focus on anniversaries, the Finnish National Opera and distinctive Finnish mailboxes. For the Finnish Post Office the year 2011 begins on January24 with the release of seven sets consisting of 22 different stamps. The visual themes of the stamps are the opera, the Finnish flag, Valentine’s Day, mailboxes, the spring, and extra-fee stamps with a nature theme. The stamp designers include both new prominent graphic artists, and professionals who have been in the business for a long time.

Design with an open mind

 

 

A miniature sheet entitled “Branches of Friendship” will be released in February to celebrate Valentine’s Day — known as Friendship Day in Finland. The stamps, illustrated by Janne Harju, show happy bird-like characters in their colorful nests. The open-minded design of the five form-cut stamps in the miniature sheet stands out from traditional stamps. The width of the largest stamp in the miniature sheet is over 11 cm. “The spring of life” stamp booklet, depicting nature’s awakening from beneath the winter snow cover, is another product of the new generation of designers. The bird and flower stamps in the five-stamp booklet, designed by graphic artist Pietari Posti, are particularly suitable for different kinds of greetings.

Finnish atmosphere on the stage, pole and by the road
 

 

The visual themes of a miniature sheet, published to mark the centenary of the Finnish National Opera, focus on scenes from six popular operas from different points in time. The operas selected in the miniature sheet, designed by Tarja Salonen, include “The Last Temptations” by Joonas Kokkonen, “The Red Line” by Aulis Sallinen, and “The Knight of the Rose” by Richard Strauss. The Blue Cross Flag, famihar to all Finns, is flown in an impressive 2nd class stamp, designed by Minna Luoma and implemented with letter press. For more information please see: http://www.helsinki-hotels.net/opera.htm

or: http://www.opera.fi/en

Mailboxes are an inherent part of the Finnish landscape and everyday life. Five genuine Finnish mailboxes in actual use are the visual theme of roll stamps designed by Päivi Vainionpää. The personal boxes also tell a story of their owners’ life.

Two extra-fee stamps with a different value were also be released in January. the stamps are intended for adding to the value of previously purchased stamp. The themes of these make-up stamps designed by Teemu Ollikainen and Timo Berry are a birch bud with a face value of .20 Euros and a birch leave with a face value of .30 euros. The stamps are cut in the shape of the plus sign, clearing indicating that they are intended to be used as make-up stamps to pay for current postal charges.